July Loot and Sonicomi VN unboxing

This article is one part loot post, one part unboxing of a visual novel, with a little bit of a boring story about a home technology failure thrown in for good measure. Sounds interesting (maybe the first two parts, anyway), right?

Boring story prelude: I'm one of those crazy people who does not use a Windows machine as my primary PC, and so the only Windows computer that was to be found in my house was an ancient XP machine that I had taken offline once Microsoft announced that they were going to stop patching that OS. I'd beefed up its memory, and so it was still perfectly functional for the limited number of offline tasks for which I wanted to use it (mainly playing Heroes of Might and Magic and various old Windows games and visual novels, of which there are plenty out there with really low system requirements).

Anyway, the other day I tried to boot it up, and got the dreaded CLICK of the power button with no fan and no hard drive spinning up accompanied by what is commonly known to owners of this particular brand machine as the "orange blinking light of death". After trying all of the easy tricks that might coax it back to life (unplugging it and clearing any static charge, reseating memory modules and drives, replacing CMOS battery) my conclusion was that either the non-standard power supply or the motherboard had bitten the dust. Considering the computer was 12 years old, I thought the most sensible thing to do was just look for a low-end new machine to serve the same function and the upside would be that I could then play some newer VN's that just wouldn't work with XP.

Believe it or not, that story leads us into the following pile of loot:

July's AmiAmi postcard features Amico and Lilco in shopgirl mode. I'm not sure why they've got that radio sitting in a box, though...

The whole point of the boring PC story was that, now having a non-obsolete Windows computer, I could then play a VN I'd been wanting to get which will be the first item in this batch of loot, the English adaptation of SonicomiITEM #129867.

Let's do an unboxing, shall we?

The cover art is so cute :).

The spine of the box.

I was surprised that JAST went pretty all-out on this release; inside, in addition to the case containing the disc, this orange box contains some extras. I really like it when game makers include extra goodies with physical versions of games.

I was doubly pleased to see JAST include a print manual for the game as well as a reversible cover for the case. The illustration on the cover should be a familiar one for Sonico fans, as it spawned this ITEM #98781 fantastic figure! The card is a downloadable code for a digital copy of the game on Steam.

The extras are three pencilboards of Sonico and an acrylic figure of the character.

The reverses of the pencilboards. With all the Sonico figures out there, I'm a little surprised we haven't gotten a figure of seifuku and glasses Sonico!

This is probably my favorite one of the pencilboards. Cute, happy, and sexy Sonico is the best Sonico :).

The other extra is an acrylic figure of Sonico in her often-seen hoodie. I like how you can see her exposed pockets which presumably was a result of her raising the hemline on the skirt.

The acrylic figure compared with ITEM #123387, which is approximately 1/8 scale.

The game itself is simple but fun. You take the role of a photographer who is assigned to Sonico as she begins her quest to become a gravure model, and you progress through the game by interacting with Sonico and playing a rail shooter-like minigame which simulates photoshoots with Sonico. If you like Sonico, or if you'd just like to play a visual novel that is not an eye-bleeding hentai-fest, it might be a worthy addition to your visual novel library.

Now let's proceed to the rest of the loot.

First up is a figure that I bought mainly to get the item that came with the figure, if that makes any sense. ITEM #146620 came as a nendoroid + CD bundle and I mainly wanted the CD's, the season one soundtrack from one of my favorite anime from the last few years, Yuru Yuri. *Starts humming "yuri yura ra ra yuru yuri..."*

While I mainly wanted the CD's from this set, it's also nice to have a figure of Akarin in invisible mode that I can display with my other Yuru Yuri Nendos (ITEM #94603 and ITEM #236191).

Next up is a figure that I would consider a grail item, as I've been looking for one for quite a long time, New Line's "Private Clothes" figure ITEM #5559 of the one and only Asuka Langley Soryu.

Since my AmiAmi order consisted of 5 figures, I was a little bit shocked to see the EMS shipping charge for my order was a whopping 8000 yen! Part of the reason for that is that Asuka is a coldcast figure, and at 1/5.5 scale, that means a *really* heavy figure.

Asuka, despite her headstrong outer persona, is of course a very vulnerable girl, and I always liked how this figure perfectly captured that part of her personality. I really like her facial expression, and her body language effectively conveys a very melancholic and vulnerable Asuka.

This doll is a very important part of Asuka's backstory, and it's appropriate that New Line poses the doll in a way that mirrors Asuka's pose.

It took me a long time to find one of these figures, but it was worth the wait! Isn't it a great feeling when you finally acquire one of your most-wished for figures?

Next up is a figure I gleaned from AmiAmi's preowned section for next to nothing, Kotobukiya's Eimi Ohba ITEM #5206, first released all the way back in 2004.

Eimi hails from the Comic Party visual novel/anime, which has held up surprisingly well over the years. Further, I like the combination of the long-sleeved jersey and the swimsuit. She was only 580 yen, and so she was sort of a throw-in with my July order, but the figure turned out to be really cute in person. For a figure made 13 years ago, the quality is pretty good, too.

A number of months ago, I picked up Eimi's castmate Mizuki ITEM #1715 on the cheap as well, and I like how they look together. I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for more of these Koto Comic Party figures!

Next up is another old figure that I'd sort of had my eye on ever since I started collecting figures, Yamato's Ringo Noyamano ITEM #493.

I'm not really a huge fan of the Air Gear franchise, so that is why I waited so long to get this figure. However, I always thought Ringo's outfit (if you can call it that!) was pretty neat, and when a couple of these showed up in AmiAmi's preowned section a couple of weeks ago, I figured now was the time.

This figure was graded B/B from AmiAmi, and while the vast majority of the B-grade items I've gotten from them have been like new, this figure does show some minor signs of wear. Ringo had obviously been open and displayed, as she was quite dusty (necessitating a bath in the sink), and you can see a couple of spots where some paint has chipped off the back of her head. This figure features Ringo in "masked hentai" mode, so named since Ringo has an optional configuration where she wears a bag over her head (see PICTURE #1807548); apparently she's a little embarrassed to be seen in this outfit, and apparently her previous owner must have displayed her that way for a while which could account for the chipped paint.

At least in terms of her physical appearance, Ringo is a lot like one of my favorite characters, Rise Kujikawa from Persona 4. That probably was a factor in my decision to finally get this particular figure, and as soon as I hit the add to cart button, I cleared out a spot for Ringo next to Aquamarine's Rise ITEM #396941.

I think Ringo and Rise look really good together!

Finally, we have a figure that has some 18+ features (although we'll keep it relatively non-NSFW) from a company that is starting to rival Native as the premier maker of 18+ figures, Skytube's Yuki Itoguchi ITEM #464891.

I really like the box art! The silhouette plays up the sexy angle of this figure without going overboard.

While I'll save the details for a separate review, Yuki is one of the most customizable figures I own. She comes with an alternate torso part which features her topless and with her collar chained to that post on the base. Further, even in her default state, her top and panties can be cast off (although it took me a few minutes to figure out if her panties were *really* supposed to be removable or not). Additionally, the "wall" on her base can be removed (I'd originally planned to display her without the wall, leaning against one of the glass panels in one of my Detolfs), and generally getting her cast off and on was fairly easy to do. If you have any cast-off figures, you probably are well aware that's not always the case!

The red latex+bondage theme made this figure an instant preorder, and Skytube did not disappoint. What I didn't expect was how well that Yuki would pair up with another figure who looks nice in red latex, Native's Nana Chigusa ITEM #42096. I might have to permanently display Yuki and Nana this way, and once Anne Takamaki ITEM #520673 gets released, I might need an entire red latex shelf!

Yuki is truly a magnificent figure, and Skytube is starting to give Native some serious competition in the 18+ figure arena!

This turned out to be a really great loot, but that's it for July, so as always...

THANKS FOR READING!

POLL TIME!!

One of the many changes to MFC over the last few weeks has been a tweak to the blog format. There's now less screen area available for text and pictures, so I tried to make the pictures in this article the "correct" size. So, the question is this:

Picture size in this blog?

Maakie (7 months ago) #24944040Thanks for the mini review on the Sonico game! I was curious how JAST's version would look. :) And congrats on finding ITEM #5559 , I remember you talking many times about wanting that figure. Are you planning on doing a full review for it?
Those (and more) Comic Party figures I regularly also see for very cheap at local cons (10-25 euros each figure)! I have been tempted on picking them up, but I have to watch out my collection doesn't get cluttered again... I was just getting happy with it being more organised, haha!

In this era of download-only games, I was surprised to see that JAST went all out on the release of Sonicomi.

I'll almost certainly get around to reviewing that Asuka figure sooner than later. It's a great figure, although it is also a very simple figure. Plus, she's gigantic.

Comic Party is one of those anime that probably turned out a lot better than it had any right to, and for whatever reason, it's just stuck with me all these years. Although Kotobukiya made a bunch of Comic Party figures, unfortunately they never made a PVC figure of my favorite character Yuu ENCYCLOPEDIA #3634.

I know what you mean about a collection getting cluttered. I'm kind of getting there, and for the time being, I've put a moratorium on raiding AmiAmi's preowned section for anything that's not on my wish list.

Thanks for the mini review on the Sonico game! I was curious how JAST's version would look. :) And congrats on finding ITEM #5559 , I remember you talking many times about wanting that figure. Are you planning on doing a full review for it?

Those (and more) Comic Party figures I regularly also see for very cheap at local cons (10-25 euros each figure)! I have been tempted on picking them up, but I have to watch out my collection doesn't get cluttered again... I was just getting happy with it being more organised, haha!

orochimaruxsaber (7 months ago) #24420128i'm glad you actually posted pictures of the figures ;D
so often there are loot posts that show all the figures in the box and it just leaves me a little disappointed cuz I want to see pictures of the unboxed figure... so thanks for taking that extra step!

It's wrong to keep figures cooped up in cardboard purgatory, that's the way I see it :).

i'm glad you actually posted pictures of the figures ;D
so often there are loot posts that show all the figures in the box and it just leaves me a little disappointed cuz I want to see pictures of the unboxed figure... so thanks for taking that extra step!

Seranis (7 months ago) #24402341I really like the Asuka figure and i'm usually not that huge of an Asuka fan. It shows her broken and "torn" personality very well and the clothes are so (positivly) different from the clothes we often see her in.

I agree that it's always good to see figures of Asuka wearing something other than the plugsuit. That figure also nicely duplicates one of my favorite Yoshiyuki Sadamoto illustrations of Asuka as well PICTURE #86729.

I really like the Asuka figure and i'm usually not that huge of an Asuka fan. It shows her broken and "torn" personality very well and the clothes are so (positivly) different from the clothes we often see her in.

moonstarfc (7 months ago) #24354483I love that Asuka figure, I might have to consider getting her as well!
Though being coldcast makes me worry about damage in shipping.

I was concerned about that as well, but she's packed pretty securely PICTURE #1807525 and she doesn't really have any small or particularly thin/delicate parts; in my experience those are the things that are prone to damage during shipping.

Really the only possible negative of that Asuka figure is that she's absolutely gigantic. I haven't taken the tape measure to her, but she definitely *looks* every bit of her advertised 1/5.5 scale. Combine that with the way she's practically lying down in that chair, and she takes up a lot of space!